Riding While Pregnant

Yes it's true, I'm pregnant and just entered the second trimester!  So far I've been feeling pretty good.  My stomach does get a little queasy, usually in the afternoon, but nothing too bad.  I also haven't had any of the fatigue a lot of women experience.  I get pretty hungry sometimes but no particular cravings, or a lot of times no food sounds particularly good but I can eat something anyways. 

I found just just before the Greenville show end of March.  The decision to keep riding is a personal one.  A couple of my non-riding friends commented that I "have to stop riding now, right?"  Well, no.  Riding itself is not inherently bad; it's just the risk of something happening to the fetus in a fall.  I've been riding for over 25 years, and have been riding Cupid for nearly 4 and he's become quite trustworthy.  I know things can happen, even with well-behaved horses they don't even need to spook but can just trip or something, but I accept that risk.  If he's ever really strung out I may call it a day, but he's been perfect so far.

 

Gained a few pounds but not very obvious yet

So far it's just been business as usual.  I've also been able to continue my workout regiment.  I don't run quite as much, but still do regular cardio in addition to core conditioning, yoga, and pilates.

I'm probably tempting fate saying this, but my plan is to keep riding as long as I'm comfortable.  Hopefully we can do a few more shows, and we are still going on a long-planned ranch and camping adventure soon.  I'll taper off to light hacks and ground work if and when that feels right.  By the end of my pregnancy we'll hopefully have had a good season, and Cupid can take a little time off to relax before ramping up for next year.

Ps. It's a boy, due late November